


Six Minutes: Justification

by blazichu



Series: Six Minutes [2]
Category: Ratchet and Clank
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-08
Updated: 2011-05-08
Packaged: 2017-10-19 03:46:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/196524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blazichu/pseuds/blazichu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The second installment in a series of "what if" style oneshots:</p><p>Emperor Percival Tachyon was, by no means, stupid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Six Minutes: Justification

**Author's Note:**

> If you didn't already know/guess, there are spoilers for the entire Future trilogy in here.

Percival wasn’t stupid, far from it, in fact. He knew lombaxian law, having been raised on Fastoon, and was perfectly aware that his current mission might not be accurate. Personally, he could live with there being _one_ lombax in the known universe, provided it was Azimuth. The elder had been a great help, after all; why not reward him with his life? The cragmite grinned at the thought, completely certain that Alister wouldn’t see it as a favor, after unwittingly betraying his kind. That just made the plot all the more beautiful, though. Of course, he couldn’t be sure that Azimuth _was_ in this dimension. Lombaxian courts weren’t always predictable, and there would have hardly been time for a sentencing; it was just as likely that they’d brought the commander of the guard with them, to preside over his punishment.

But let Kaden’s son live? No, no; that wouldn’t do at all.

The keeper of the Dimensionator had been a thorn in Tachyon’s side for far too long, and had been finished off too quickly for the cragmite’s liking. Kaden’s wife, however… Percival hadn’t meant to kill her; she had been kind to him where others had been cruel. He’d merely meant to scare her off, but she had refused to leave without her husband and child; there had been nothing more to do for her, at that point.

With _his_ parents, the chance involved with letting that lombax live was simply too great. Not to mention the fact that Percival was looking forward to finishing what he’d started with the house of Zenith…

What a pain! Kaden just _had_ to turn this whole thing into a wild goose chase, didn’t he? It had taken years upon years to narrow the search to the Solana galaxy; even longer to consider Veldin, being the backwater planet that it was. And the worst part was that, just as soon as Tachyon had considered making his move, that lombax was gone _again!_ He’d heard rumors that it had been an impromptu trip to the Bogon galaxy, but really didn’t care what had happened, so long as his target returned. It was certainly frustrating, having his masterfully laid plans smashed to pieces by blathering fools of villains, most of which didn’t even know _what_ they were up against.

Oh, Tachyon would acknowledge the race’s resourceful nature; he’d learned a great deal from them, after all. Had they not been his natural enemies, the lombaxes would have been wonderful company, but the entire species had wronged him in a way that he couldn’t fully articulate. Were they aware of the pain that it inspired, not knowing one’s origins or seeing another like one’s self? Of course not! It was justice, as far as Percival was concerned: the Cragmites had been forced into another dimension, and so too had their rivals.

Sometimes, though, his determination wavered. He could justify the entire race, that was easy; but now- as far as he was aware- the population was definitely smaller, to say the least. There were days when Tachyon simply couldn’t decide what would be a worse punishment for the last of his adversaries: a simple death, or to continue with an uncertain existence, the very same that he, Percival, had endured.

But the cragmite, having invested so much time and effort into seeing things from the perspective of general Alister Azimuth, didn’t realize that he now viewed the world in a similar way. When he finally caught up to that blasted Zenith, all he could see was a reflection of Kaden. That hadn’t left a choice: Emperor Percival Tachyon, for once in his lifetime, acted on instinct alone.

Perhaps there is a reason that Cragmites were not known for their intuition.


End file.
